Sewing for Children by Emma Hardy

When we came back from the school run this morning, Eloise and I were extremely excited to find a Fishpond parcel waiting on the doorstep. It was Emma Hardy's latest book: Sewing for Children. I have all of her other books and love the way she explains things. Her books are beautifully illustrated too and full of gorgeous things to make so when I saw she had a book aimed at children I had to have it for my girls.

It's aimed at 3 and above and Eloise (aged 3 1/2) was desperate to get stuck into learning to sew as soon as the book arrived. She chose to make a spoon dolly, which was lucky as it was the easiest project in the book and this was her first time handling a needle and thread. The only sewing involved was a running stitch across the top of the dress to gather it, but she just loved it!

The button is her nose in case you hadn't gathered that!

As soon as she finished this one, she immediately wanted to make another. Could you resist this face?

Needless to say we now have to go and buy some more wooden spoons to replace the ones that are missing from the kitchen drawer.

Fast and Green sewing projects

There are some amazing craft books out there at the moment and I've been making the most of our library ordering service to get my hands on the more popular ones. Amazingly I have found the the time to get stuck in to some of the projects (normally I just love to sit and browse with a cup of coffee and they never even make it down to my sewing room.) I made this gorgeous quilt for Maddy in just 4 1/2 hours.

She is my biggest critic but these are her favourite fabrics and I was thrilled when she said she loved it.


Its from Sewing in No Time by Emma Hardy which I would highly recommend. Great hand drawn step by step instructions and some lovely but practical ideas. I particuarly like the picnic rug that converts into a pup tent with a rope and some knitting needles! I will definately be saving up to buy this book.

I also got Stitched in Time by Alicia Paulson which is so beautifully written that it made me cry at one point and laugh out loud in several places. Alicia writes the Posie Gets Cosy blog and always has something interesting to say. I haven't attempted any of the projects in it yet but I will do when I need to make some gifts.

Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross was another great find at the library. She has some fantastic tips on how to fit sewing into your life. I'll be trying the baby kimono as a baby shower gift and I love the adult Kimono dress and Obi Sash. I'll post photos when I get the chance to make them.

My favourite of all the books is Sewing Green by Betz White.

I LOVE this book. It has the most amazing and practical ideas made from repurposed items and other projects to encourage a green lifestyle. As soon as I got this out of the library I went straight on to Fishpond.co.nz and bought it. I've made the reuseable sandwich wraps for Maddy and Eloise and they love them. They only take about 15 minutes to make start to finish. The printed PUL is from Little Cloth Kiwis who sell on Trade Me. They have nappy cuts which will make 1 1/2 sandwich wraps for $8. If you are making these for kids I would recommend getting some cheaper plain PUL for the side flaps and just using the printed stuff for the main body of the wrap which will be on the outside. They are great things because you can open it out like a little lap blanket and catch crumbs! They just wipe clean and you can put them through the washing machine.